Casting features organic additions of diverse actors in new roles such as Mo McRae as Cassie's Black CIA handler, Rosie Perez returning as Megan, Deniz Akdeniz as Max, Griffin Matthews as Shane, Callie Hernandez and J.J. Soria as the Diaz bounty-hunting couple, plus Margaret Cho and Shohreh Aghdashloo in supporting parts.

Creator Steve Yockey highlighted that authentic diverse storytelling 'isn't that hard to do,' and non-binary actor Mae Martin (they/them) recurs as Grace St. James, a chaotic flight attendant friend whose arc ties to partying versus Cassie's recovery. These elements remain incidental to the thriller premise and do not alter source material or drive subplots around systemic issues or critiques of norms.

Reception shows no widespread 'woke' backlash or review-bombing; critics and audiences focused on repetitive plotting and emotional beats instead, with only isolated commentary noting a perceived tonal shift from season 1. The ideology stays peripheral, typical of contemporary network diversity without foundational activist framing.